Stolen First Dance
by Shiroi Hoshi
Summary: He only has eyes for her, but her heart was with someone else. Naruto has always loved her, but Sakura has never realized it. He has no intentions to let her know, but he could always hope, couldn't he? NARUSAKU ONESHOT.


**Hey guys! I'm back with a new NaruSaku oneshot. I was so obsessed with the song All About Us by He Is We after my school's Dance Concert 2 weeks ago. The song is really nice. And my school's dance club did an AWESOME job too. This story is inspired by the song. If you haven't listened to it, go listen to it now! Hope you like this (:**

* * *

Naruto knew about her habit of tucking her hair behind her ears whenever she felt nervous. He had always known. He didn't let the way she dropped her eyes to the ground right after that go unnoticed. He knew about that too. Of course he would know. They had grown up together.

And he'd fallen in love with her sassy attitude, her uniquely beautiful hair she was so self conscious about, her mischievous eyes and her rare, though infectious laughter right from the start. But she would never realize. That was just the way she was. And maybe, Naruto liked that about her.

He had always been looking out for her. She had a ridiculous knack for trouble. In fact, she was like a magnet for trouble. But he liked watching her in general. He liked the way she looked when she was deep in concentration— the way her delicate forehead crinkled and her eyebrows furrowed slightly into a small adorable frown. He liked these things about her.

She wasn't concentrating now.

Naruto had his elbow on the table, his palm flat against his cheek as he watched her glance up from her textbook and back down again, tucking and pushing her hair behind her ears. He didn't even have to follow her gaze to know whom it was directed at.

Uchiha Sasuke.

She had had a crush on Sasuke since the teacher introduced the transfer in grade school. His cool and calm about everything was intriguing and fresh. He wasn't like other boys. He didn't look up the girls' skirts or play dirty. He didn't call them names or make fun of them. He was simply ignorant of everyone. He didn't join in the games, or speak much in class.

Unfortunately, Sasuke was the prime object of every girl's admiration, so she never really had a chance. She had Naruto, though. But Naruto was the same as all the other boys. He was however, never mean to her. That was why they had become fast and close friends. She told him everything. He was the first person she consulted on every problem. He was the first person who encouraged her to make her confession, and the first person she ran crying to when Sasuke turned her down.

Naruto had always been there. He was a good friend. She was lucky to have him.

He watched her now, distractedly tapping her pen on her desk as she tried to catch broken glimpses of Sasuke, who sat near the front, listening to the teacher with a stone gaze.

It was senior year, and graduation was months away. Naruto could hardly wait to get _out_ of Konoha Private Institution. Just a few more months and he'd be free, far away from the pathetic town of nothingness. Maybe he'd set up his own ramen stall somewhere.

"Ha. Ru. No."

Everyone turned to stare at her. Naruto glanced away from his daydream and sought her out with his eyes. She was blushing at the attention everyone was giving her. All the students were desperate to find an excuse to be distracted by Gai Sensei's lecture.

"I'm sorry, Sensei," she whispered.

"Please stop looking at Uchiha," Gai said, wagging his thick eyebrows.

A collective giggle went up the classroom and they were abruptly shushed by the passionate teacher.

Naruto caught her panicked eyes flitting about her room before she looked at him. He cracked a smile and mouthed "loser". She blinked, then narrowed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Haruno!"

She hurriedly turned back to the front and put on her sweetest smile. "I really won't do it again."

Before Gai dismissed the class, he handed each student a poster. "Don't forget the dance next month. This year _all _of you will be participating." He waited for the groaning to stop. "Last year there were too few participants. There were only two pairs to judge by."

"So?" a kid called Kiba shouted from beside Naruto.

"_So_," Gai looked pointedly at the class. "_All_ you of energetic young ladies and gentlemen, please find your dance partner and submit your names to me _by the end of lunchtime_. Dismissed."

Naruto walked over to her desk and sat on it. She gave him an irritated glare and picked up her books.

"If you don't mind, please get your ass off my table."

"Don't be like that, Sakura-chan," Naruto grinned. "Do you want to be partners for the dance?"

She wrinkled her nose. "What? You? Can you even _dance_?"

Naruto was slightly offended. "Of course I can."

"Well, I can't..."

"I'll teach you?" he offered.

She glanced away from him for a second, and Naruto knew she was looking over his shoulder at Sasuke. He saw a flash of hope before disappointment crossed her eyes. She looked Naruto up and down. "I don't see how it will hurt..."

Naruto laughed. Oh yes, it was going to hurt. He was going to hurt a lot. And he knew exactly why, but yet he chose to put himself into that situation. He wouldn't mind being a replacement for Sasuke, as long as he got to be with her.

* * *

"Sakura-chan, you have to try."

Naruto was just the tiniest bit exasperated, and close to giving up.

She kept wrinkling her nose at the aspect of having to put her hand on his waist. "I can't... do that. It's so weird."

"Come on," Naruto sighed.

"But—"

"_Take_ my hand," he said.

She gave him one last skeptical look, and took his hand, gingerly getting into position. "I didn't know you did ballroom dancing."

"Just in case I needed to court a lady," Naruto flashed her a brief smile.

She raised her eyebrow. "Oh?"

"All right. Just follow me, okay?" Naruto stepped backwards once. "When I take one step back, you take one step forward, a mirror image. Got it?"

She tried, a small tiny step.

"You need to be more confident. Take a bigger step."

"I don't even know how to do this yet," she said desperately.

"It's all right. You can step on my feet."

Sakura laughed and Naruto realized her intention too late. There was a short, sharp pain on his toe and he jumped nearly two feet into the air.

"_OW_!"

"I am _so _sorry," she said, laughing too hard to form the words properly.

"That's mean, Sakura-chan."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Let's try that again. I don't want to make a fool out of myself in front of... the whole school."

Naruto watched her face. He knew that wasn't what she was worried about. It was Sasuke that she didn't want to make a fool out of herself in front of.

"Follow me, yeah?"

"Okay."

They spent an hour waltzing around the living room, laughing and the occasional squeal she made when she put forward the wrong foot. Naruto never wanted it to end. He wanted to hear her laughter forever.

"Now," he said, "I'll spin you around..."

"Oh my God," she widened her eyes. "No!"

"Relax," Naruto said, raising his arm, with her hand still in his. He spent a moment etching the image of their entwined fingers into his mind before he continued. "I'll raise my arm up like this, and then you turn."

"What?"

"Turn. One round," Naruto nodded, encouraging her.

She didn't. She stood there biting her lip.

"Just relax, Sakura-chan. I won't let you fall. It's not even possible to fall."

"Shut up. I'm an amateur."

"Or worse."

She glared and spun a full circle. She tilted her chin up defiantly. "How was that for someone worse than an amateur?"

"That was very good," Naruto grinned. "You should do that more often. Now turn twice."

She did.

They practiced everyday, and they got better and better. But Naruto knew that after the dance, he would have to learn how to live without her laughter again. But for now, he wanted to make the best out of what he has.

* * *

Naruto was standing at the entrance of the assembly-hall-turned-into-ballroom, fidgeting with his tux when she walked in.

Stunning. Absolutely stunning. Those were the only words that Naruto could coherently form with his mind. It was almost impossible how she could look perfect so effortlessly.

"Hey," he said, his voice hoarse from her sudden arrival.

"Hey," she said, giving him a panicky smile. "I'm kind of scared now. Everyone is going to be watching."

"It's going to be all right, you know that right? I bet we practiced harder than all those other douche bags."

"Did we practice enough?" she wondered, twirling a lock of hair around her fingers before pushing it behind her ear, only for it to fall forward to her face again.

She was in a halter dress of black silk. It wrapped around her torso to show her flat stomach before falling freely from her waist downwards, stopping somewhere slightly above her knees. She wore strapped heels and no makeup. Her rose pink waves tumbled down her back, wild and messy, but she looked good. Her jade eyes were wide with nervousness.

"Of course," Naruto said, and he believed it.

They stood in a circle and watched other couples start off with their dance, pair by pair. Naruto tapped his foot on the ground, almost wishing he that wasn't a participant.

He turned to look at her. She was looking all around and he saw her freeze. Slowly, carefully, he followed her gaze.

Uchiha Sasuke stood beside a redhead wearing glasses. The girl was pretty, but the triumphant sneer she threw to every girl who gave her dirty looks marred her smile.

Naruto turned back to her, and he saw that she was staring at the ground, one of her fists twisted in the skirt of her dress. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

She lifted her head up to look at him, then, glancing at Sasuke one last time, she smiled at Naruto, her eyes free of tears. "I'm fine. And we're going to own this place tonight."

Naruto raised his eyebrow at her sudden change of attitude. "Whoa Sakura-chan," he said. "Just a month ago you were an _amateur_.'

"Well, I'm a professional now," the cherry blossom declared.

"If you say so."

"I _know_ so."

They turned their attention back to the dance floor. The couple was almost done, and the music slowed down to a stop. There was an expected sound of weak applause by bored students as the pair walked off the floor.

"Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura."

Naruto tensed, and made a face at her, who squeezed his hand tightly.

They walked slowly to the center of the circle and positioned themselves.

The music started slow, and Naruto almost forgot what to do. She eyed him purposefully and he took his step back while she took one forward. They were doing fine.

Naruto could tell that she was beyond nervous. "Relax," he whispered. "Let me lead."

She nodded and bit her lip.

The verse ended and the chorus came on.

_Cause lovers dance when they're feeling in love, spotlight shining, it's all about us. It's all, all, all, about us._

Naruto smiled wryly at the irony of those words. Love? It was one sided on his part, but she hadn't objected when he'd picked the song. She'd liked it.

_And every heart in the room will melt, this is a feeling I've never felt but it's all about us_.

They glanced around them, their audience seemed to be mesmerized, but he didn't want to get their hopes up. Neither of them looked at the audience again. Their hearts pounding, they reached the last chorus of the song.

"We're almost there," Naruto said softly.

She nodded, holding his arm tighter.

When the last line of the song came about, Naruto reached down to clasp her hand in his, lifting his arm as she spun two flawless circles and he supported her back down in a dip.

The applause came like thunder. It was so loud Naruto winced. His partner seemed a little out of breath, a trickle of perspiration trailing from her forehead and dying somewhere near her cheek. She swiped it away.

"We did it!" she gasped, gazing at Naruto, at the judges, and at the audience in wonder. "Oh my God, Naruto!"

"Yes we did," Naruto laughed, picking her up in his arms and spinning her around, forgetting that they were still the center of attention.

"That was breathtaking," said Kurenai, one of the judges.

"It was quite a good choreography," Kakashi added.

"Marvelous!" Gai jumped up from his seat, punching the air. "That was gorgeous! A real masterpiece! I can see your youthful endeavor! I can feel your young spirits! Your hearts burn with the flame of life! It is truly a job well done."

Naruto walked awkwardly out of the circle. He had never really been praised before. He watched her scan the crowd for Sasuke but he was nowhere to be seen. Knowing the Uchiha, he probably had no intention to perform, and had loitered outside somewhere.

"Do you want to look for Sasuke?"

"Huh? Oh, no," she stuttered. "No, I don't."

"All right. Do you want a drink? I think the performances are over."

"Okay."

They walked to the refreshments table and Naruto took a paper cup. He had just filled it with punch and was about to offer it to her when a voice came from behind them.

"Haruno Sakura, is it?"

They both turned.

"Sasuke-kun," her breath hitched.

"You danced very well."

"Th-thank you," she said, in near disbelief, and glanced at Naruto, who shrugged.

"If you don't mind," Sasuke said when a song started through the loudspeakers. "Do you want to dance?"

"Wh-what?"

Naruto stared at Sasuke in surprise.

"May I have this dance?" Sasuke offered her a hand, which she took, stunned.

"S-sure," she turned to look back at Naruto.

He was looking at her with a look she couldn't name, but she hoped he didn't mind.

"Naruto," she said.

"Uhm, yeah?"

"You can have that drink," she called as walked. "And, thank you, for everything you taught me. And for tonight."

It almost sounded as if she was saying goodbye forever. Naruto took a deep breath. "No problem," he said, and masked his disappointment with what he hoped was his best smile. "Have fun, Sakura-chan."

"You too, Naruto!" he saw her smile, a genuine, happy smile, before she disappeared into the crowd.

Naruto took the punch and walked a corner of the noisy room. He took a sip of his fruit punch and stared up at the ceiling.

At least he'd stolen her first dance.

* * *

**A/N: I hope it's not THAT cliched. I mean, it's really hard not to write cliche stuff because nowadays, almost all story types have been covered. but i hope this is okay :D Did you like it? PLEASE REVIEW. Yes please please pleaaaase review! Thanks guys (:**


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